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Pesticide Lobbyist Gets Posted as Chief Agricultural Negotiator

Confident after his success with health insurance reform, President Obama exerted his executive power on Saturday by making fifteen appointments during the Senate's recess. Among the appointments was Islam Siddiqui, who will now be serving as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The Pesticide Action Network North America was one of the groups opposing Siddiqui's nomination, and Senior Scientist Marcia Ishii-Eiteman had this to say about his posting: "When 90,000 people petition their public servants (which is what Senators and the President are, after all) to say that a nomination is unacceptable, and that these revolving door appointments have to stop, and the President proceeds anyhow, what I see is a dereliction of duty. Expediency trumping democracy is how we end up with industry lobbyists running the regulatory agencies in the first place."